New Yorker here.

Do yourself a favor and do not go to that event.

Before 9/11 it was cool. People wandered from bar to bar, or drank in the street, and at midnight you'd watch the ball drop.

Since 9/11 there are a million cops, you are penned in with few bathrooms, and it's a nightmare to get in or out.

Does that mean America has reached puberty?

It's finally reached full puberty.